The Lake
by LuxTheDreamer
Summary: Hermione finds herself sitting by the lake at the Burrow, what happens when a certain Weasley joins her? Fremione fluff.


The bedroom was nothing out of the ordinary- it was small, contained trinkets of the owner and was slightly messy. What made it special was the two witches currently sleeping in it, blissfully unaware of the reality they lived in. The war was ongoing and the Dark Lord was still undefeated. Times were tough for families everywhere, muggles and magical folk alike.

It was early morning when Hermione Granger awoke and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. The faint smell of perfume filled her nostrils and the sound of Ginny's soft snore made her smile. It was officially her first day at the Burrow for the summer and she was glad to be with people who had became family. She decided to go outside and enjoy the feel of the morning sunshine against her skin as she knew there would be no more sleep for her.

Hermione went and sat beside the lake, marvelling at the beauty of the countryside. The grass was overgrown and the stream of sunshine on the water was almost blinding. She was glad to have some peace before the chaos of the Weasley breakfast began and she would no longer have this alone time.

This place made it so easy to forget the dark times they were living in, Hermione almost forgot that she would soon leave with Harry and Ron to search for horcruxes. But, for now she would enjoy this serenity and appreciate every moment she spent here.

She heard the grass rustle behind her and out of the corner of her eye she saw the famous Weasley, red hair. She assumed it was Ron and wondered how he was awake so early, then he joined her. She went to vocalize her thoughts but was shocked to discover it was Fred Weasley that had sat down.

A faint blush appeared on her cheeks as her heart gave a tiny leap at the sight of her crush, his hair was unfixed and his long sleeves were uneven on his arms. Looking at Fred made her aware of her appearance and she doubted she looked as good as he did in the morning. She tried to fix her wild hair discreetly but the morning breeze blew it all over the place so she settled on tucking it behind her ears.

"What has you up so early, Miss Granger?" He asked, breaking the silence.

"My brain wouldn't let me sleep. You?" She replied.

"Ah, with a mind like yours I can't say I'm surprised. I was thinking too much to sleep as well..."

"Now _that_ does surprise me," she joked.

"I'll have you know that I do a lot of thinking!"

"Of course, how could I forget the genius that was an ageing potion?"

"I'll admit that wasn't one of my finer moments…"

They laughed at the memory and sat in a comfortable silence, Hermione took this time to really look at Fred. This Weasley was the one that had always fascinated her the most, his constant mischievous grin had always made her heart race and he never failed to make Hermione laugh. It was true that he was very intelligent, that was obvious in his many inventions he had created with George.

She must have stared a little too long because Fred smirked and said, "enjoying the view?"

Hermione's cheeks went from pink to red and she looked down to avoid his eyes. They had been sitting so close their arms were touching which made her blush even more, she felt his shoulders move as he chuckled at her embarrassment.

Then he hesitantly took her hand and whispered, "I don't want you to leave..."

Hermione held her breath, how did he know? As if reading her mind he added," I heard Harry and Ron talking about it last night with the extendable ears. I mean, I get that they need you but I just... The thought of not knowing where you are and if you're even alive scares me so much, Hermione."

For once Fred was serious, the fear could be heard in his voice. He felt so vulnerable as he let his facade drop and attempted to tell Hermione how he felt. He realised that he had waited too long and should have told her years ago.

"Fred... I'm sorry you had to find out that way, we were gonna wait until nearer to the time to tell everyone, so we could all enjoy ourselves without worrying." Then her voice dropped to a murmur, "I'm scared too. Scared that I'll never see you or the others again, scared that..."

Hermione took a deep breath and continued, "I'm afraid that I won't ever hear your laugh again or see your smile as you prank someone. I don't want to admit my feelings when it's too late."

They looked at each other, wind blowing in their hair and the smell of nature filling their noses. This moment was truly perfect, magic was all around them and it wasn't because they were wizards. They both had small smiles on their faces as they leant closer to one another and just as their lips were about to touch a distant crash sounded and the shouts that followed shocked them both.

"Breakfast is ready," they said simultaneously.

They laughed and stood up, Fred held his hand out to Hermione, "Shall we, Miss Granger?"

She took his hand and squeezed it, "we shall, Mr Weasley."

That summer sitting at the lake became a routine. Both would awaken early and spend that peaceful time together- Hermione would lean her head on his shoulder and Fred would kiss her head as they dreamed of the future they would have after the war. They spoke about nothing and everything, but most importantly they laughed until their stomach's hurt. As a wise man once said, 'happiness can be found in the darkest of times if one only remembers to turn on the light' and thankfully they found light in each other and the sunshine over their lake.


End file.
